Well my visit to the Malabar Disc Golf Course netted a fun round. It's packed into small park but it still managed to stretch itself out enough to incorporate a nice 18 hole course. The 5641-foot par 54 course plays through thick palm scrubs and tall pines. There is lots of wildlife with a good chance of seeing some big turtles during your round.

Given the available land, the designers did a good job turning a bland area into a good course. While there are no elevation changes to speak of, there are other design elements to keep it interesting. The larger palm/pine trees scattered throughout the park dictate the design as thoughtful basket placements fine-tune the holes. A reasonable variation of hole lengths pepper the course while a mix of turning shots keep it challenging. Two 9 hole loops bring you right back to the front of the course, which is always appreciated, especially if you want to run to your car for water or supplies half way through the round.

I loved the character of the course. There is just that feeling you get when a club takes ownership of a course and they add those special touches. Nothing has a particular professional feel to it but somehow you will hardly notice. A kiosk near the parking lot greets you while tee signs and next tee signs point the way. Even some unique tribal masks adorn the trees along with some totem poles in certain areas lending themselves to the overall vibe of the course. A really long elevated tee pad, which may remind you of a runway, is shared by holes twelve and seventeen and is a unique feature. On seventeen's side of the pad, you'll notice a "Spin O Mando" where you spin a wheel to discover which side of the split fairway you'll be required to play.

Losing a disc or at least spending a lot of time searching is likely out here at some point, especially if playing solo.

The course is nasty outside the fairways. First timers might struggle. From the tee, it is hard to see the rough. You can throw and then walk up and see that you're unintentionally in a bad spot to locate your disc. Of course, that translates into a bad spot to throw your next shot. Overall, I think the thick shule does a disservice and takes away from the potential fun on the course.

The course is worth the stop if you're in the area. If I play it again, I would prefer the play with a group to help one another look for discs.

There is a park across the street with bathrooms if needed. It also has other recreational activities for folks in your group (traveling families, etc.) who may not be interested in disc golf.

Malabar was a lot tougher than I expected. Tight fairways with thick shule in abundance. Hit the lines here or be punished. I'm guessing that there are local routes, and ways to exploit the course if you know it well, since many of the obstacles are low brush, but playing the fairways as they are leads to a varied bunch of interesting lines. The best of them is probably 17. That tee is on a raised mound(12 shares the mound, but points in the other direction.) and the thrower is confronted with a choice of two paths: mirror images of each other, one goes left and the other right, but they both feature a narrow fairway and a wicked curve.

It's a strange layout, with multiple points where tees need to be walked by. I can definitely see where earlier reviewers could be confused. Without signs, this course would be a nightmare to navigate. However, the navigation aids are fantastic. Not only are you pointed in the right direction from the basket but there are many signs along the way. At every where confusion is possible, a sign is there. With all the winding around the paths between holes make, it's a really fun course to follow. I wonder how it plays when it's crowded though. I can't tell if it would be enhanced by all the times you walk past tees or if there would too much interference. For some reason I want to say it's a course that plays better in a large group but it's definitely a fun one either way.

Until you are familiar with the course and the landing zones, there will be some rough times. You will be digging through some pretty thick stuff for your discs. Unless you habitually scout, there will be places where you read the sign, see the fairway in front of you, throw a shot that curves nicely around the visible shule and to where you think you want to land for a run at a birdie, but upon walking to your disc, find that there is scrub where you thought there would be open field. Part of that is due to the tee signs, which are very vague but part of that is the nature of this type of course.

It's also one of those courses that has a limited range of abilities that it appeals to. Great players will be bored, since they will be able to go over the top of everything and there isn't much distance to make it challenging. Big sky hyzers will help you score well here, but they won't really be fun. Newer players will be frustrated quickly with the technical fairways and constantly putting discs into nasty stuff. Really, you can throw in to the scrub twenty feet in front of you and be left scratching your head, wondering how your disc disappeared. It's really only those in-between players that will and can play the lines as intended that will enjoy this course.

I saw six tortoises. That's a course record for me.

It is a good layout for the amount of land the park is built on.( and it is the only thing on the property) The course is typical Florida DG , lots of palmettos and lots of time spent looking for plastic if you are throwing solo...hahaha. The course is fun and poses a challenge, and for the lack of disc golf in the area it is not bad.

Not sure if any cons can be made due to the amount of parks in the area (3). It does get a bit crowded at times and the palmettos are a little out of control, but all in all it is descent golf.